Advisory Council
Tom Doerr
Vice President/News Director,
Fox Television Stations Houston
Tom Doerr joined Fox Television Stations as Vice President and News Director of KRIV-TV in July of 2009. He is responsible for overseeing the daily 7 plus hours of local news programming in Houston, Texas.
Previously, Tom was Vice President & Station Manager for CBS owned and operated WFOR CBS4 & WBFS MY33 in Miami, Florida. As VP/Station Manager, Tom was administratively responsible for all aspects of both television stations operations.
He came to South Florida from Dallas/Fort Worth where he was the News Director at CBS O&O KTVT CBS 11 & KTXA 21. Prior to that, Tom was the Executive News Director at KENS-TV in San Antonio. In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, Tom was Executive News Director at KTRK-TV in Houston, Texas. Tom may be the only News Director to serve in three of Texas’ largest cities. Tom also spent some time on the consulting end of the business. He was the Senior Strategist at Audience Research and Development in Dallas. All told he’s spent over 14 years of his career in Texas.
However, Tom is no stranger to Florida. He served as News Director at WPLG-TV in Miami/Fort Lauderdale for over five years, as well as earning his Bachelor of Science and Masters Degree in Journalism from the University of Florida.
He’s also worked as Vice President of News at WJLA in Washington, D.C., News Director at KTUL-TV in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Executive Producer at WSB-TV in Atlanta and a news producer at WHP-TV in Harrisburg, PA. Tom began his journalism career in Harlingen, Texas, as a reporter at KGBT-TV.
During his career, he has led coverage of many of the nation’s top stories including the accident at Three Mile Island; Atlanta’s murdered and missing children; the Iran-Contra scandal; both Gulf Wars; both shuttle disasters; the flotilla exodus from Cuba and the Value Jet crash.
Tom’s hard work over the years has garnered numerous awards, particularly in news investigations. His news teams have won four Alfred I DuPont Awards, three for “Best Investigative Series” and one for WPLG’s Armed Enemies of Castro. The Peabody Award, Scott Newman Award, three Texas Headline Awards, the Ohio State Award and two RTNDA Comprehensive Coverage Awards make up this impressive list.
Doerr has also served as an industry leader as the former Chairman of the ABC News Advisory Board. In 2006, Doerr’s Dallas news team won Edward R. Murrow awards for Overall Excellence, Spot News and Continuing Coverage. In 2007, WFOR won Murrow awards for Continuing Coverage, Spot News and Best Newscast.
In September of 2008, Tom was invited to become a member of the University of Florida’s College of Journalism’s Telecommunication Advisory Panel. Tom also serves on the Professional Leadership Council at Florida International University’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He is also a member of the South Florida Leadership Committee of The Advertising Council.
Originally from Detroit, he spent most of his childhood in Ohio. He earned A.A.U All America honors at the University of Florida in Track and Field. He lives in Houston with his wife Gail, who is a former crime reporter for WPLG, WTVJ and WIOD radio.
The Campaign for the University of Florida